Washington, Sep 18, 2007 -  

U.S. Congressman John Carter (TX-31), House Conference Secretary, issued the following statement at the Republican Leadership Stakeout this morning regarding earmarks and the desperate need for transparency in all congressional bills:

“The Democrats talked big talk about making the earmark process more transparent to the American people. They promised to throw up the shades, pull back the curtains and bring transparency and openness to the earmark process. I am a firm believer that what you say should match up with what you do. However, what the democrats have promised compared to what they are doing doesn’t equal the same thing. The new majority in Congress continues to abuse earmarks and hide wasteful spending from the American people.

“For example, Chairman Rangel earmarked $2 million for the “Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. The center is seeking donations through a ’20-page glossy brochure’ to restore a ‘magnificent Harlem limestone townhouse’ that will provide a ‘well-furnished office for Congressman Rangel.’ (Opinion Journal, 7/20/07)

“And let’s not stop there. Representative Paul Kanjorski is under fire for steering $9.25 million in tax dollars to a company owned by his family. According to the Politico, the company, Cornerstone Technologies, ‘was formed by his nephew, Peter Kanjorski, and a scientist, Bruce Conrad, who were joined in the company by four of the congressman’s other nephews and his daughter…[S]eparate from House rules, federal law prohibits members of Congress from contracting with the federal government.’ (Politico, 9/5/07)

“The list continues. Former Senator Max Cleland recently resigned from the board of a group called Pennsylvania Association for individuals with Disabilities (PAID) after Roll Call newspaper began investigating what it calls its ‘limited achievements.’ The group was founded and has been kept on ‘life support’ by earmarks secured by Representative Jack Murtha. Roll Call reported that the ‘organization gathers government contracts that Murtha earmarks but works primarily with other companies Murtha has funded. And it can point to few successes that are unrelated to the Congressman.’ Since its inception, Murtha has kept PAID on ‘life support.’ Cleland admitted to working with Murtha to secure federal funds for a Georgia-based company marketing ‘wound-care’ programs to the Pentagon. Cleland is a lobbyist for the firm. (Roll Call, 9/11/07)

“The New York Times reported that ‘Despite promises by Congress to end the secrecy of earmarks and other pet projects, the House of Representatives has quietly funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to specific hospitals and health care providers’ in the SCHIP bill. ‘Instead of naming the hospitals, the bill describes them in cryptic terms, so that identifying a beneficiary is like solving a riddle. Most of the provisions were added to the bill at the request of Democratic lawmakers.’ (New York Times, 8/12/07)

“The American people need someone to stand up for them. They need someone to bring the fight against wasteful spending to the House Floor. Republicans are ready to stand up for the American people and hold Democrats accountable for real earmark reform on behalf of the taxpayers.”